Sang It Clear
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day five hundred and sixty-six:  dare songs pt 2  The tables have been turned in the dare song assignment, and it's Matt's turn.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 26th cycle. Now cycle 27!_

_**DARE SONGS, PT 2** - So a little while back (and by that I mean like 200 days, wow ;)) I had the dare songs set, where the club was paired off, with one person daring a song on to the other. If you'll recall at the end of the last one, the tables were turned, and now well... it's finally time for those :D I won't spread 'em out over cycles though, I'll get them all done this week! So here we go..._

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><p><strong>"Sang It Clear"<br>****Kurt - Matt  
><strong>******DARES PT 1: Sing it out (Quinn - Puck), Sing it loud (Tina - Mercedes), Sing it proud (Artie - Brittany),  
><strong>********Sing it still (Santana - Rachel), Sing it along (Finn - Mike), Sing it clear (Matt - Kurt)  
><strong>******DARES PT 2: Sang it out (Puck - Quinn), Sang it loud (Mer - Tina), Sang it proud (Britt - Artie)  
><strong>******Sang it still (Rachel - Santana), Sang it along (Mike - Finn)****

_['(Simply) the best' - Tina Turner]_

Matt felt all the color in his face just drain out of his ears for a moment when he realized things were going to be turned around and now he was going to be the one receiving a dare and going up on stage. It was going to be that moment he'd never really thought would ever come, because no one gave him the indication that it would… Somehow it just never came around to him. But now there they were, he was slated to have a meeting with that microphone… He looked to Kurt, but apparently it hadn't dawned on him just yet the part he'd just been handed.

At the end of the period though, Matt caught up with Kurt out in the hall. When Kurt saw him coming, he realized he'd forgotten it would be up to him. "Hey, right…" was his greeting. "I'm sorry," he went on.

"It's okay," Matt promised him.

"Well, okay, let's see then!" Kurt smirked at him. Matt wasn't sure what 'let's see' was, but when he looked back he found Kurt staring back at him, almost like he was trying to measure something. Before he could ask what he was doing, Kurt started to ask him questions. "So just so I know whether to rule it out or not, if I find a song that's sung by a girl, is that alright with you?"

"Sure," Matt shrugged. "You were okay with it, why shouldn't I?"

"Well…" Kurt started to say, but he didn't finish out the thought, getting back to topic. "Any genre you'd prefer me to stay away from?"

"I don't know… I mean I don't know I'd do too good with something like… country," he said the first thing that came to mind.'

"Noted," Kurt nodded.

"I'd be fine with pretty much anything, I guess. Except just… I mean I know it's a dare and everything…"

"Well you helped me, so why wouldn't I do the same for you?" Kurt pointed out.

"Right," Matt gave a bow of the head.

"You leave it up to me then. I'll get back to you as soon as I've found something," he promised. Matt just watched him go; so now he could only wait for him to contact him with a song.

His mind had already started working through his 'catalogue' from the moment they were talking, and the little information they'd settled together had already gotten him to focus on certain sections in particular. He had to admit, as soon as Matt had given the okay on it, he had all but shut out anything that wasn't by a female artist. It would certainly give some symmetry to their two dares, and it would add something to the choice, too.

He could almost hear it in his head already, but it was that something just not quite in your consciousness, and it took over your sanity until you could piece everything together and identify it… notes, words, repeated… By the end of the afternoon he was tapping it with his foot, his pencil, his coffee cup lid… it came to life when typing out something at the computer took on a rhythm and he looked down to his hands… oh, of course. Now he had it.

"Can't believe it took me that long," he mumbled under his breath as he reached for his phone to send off the title to Matt.

He didn't get to check his phone until late that night. When he did, he was already so tired that when he woke up the next morning he didn't remember having even received the message from Kurt. When he got to school, and he saw Kurt in the hall, he almost went to ask him when he would send him the song, but then just thinking of that managed to light the tiny spark he needed to remember… He reached in his pocket for his phone and looked…

There it was, an open message from Kurt. It was a good thing he hadn't cleared them, like he usually did. He saw the title and he was glad it was something he knew well enough. For some reason he had imagined Kurt would just pull something out of nowhere, something he'd never heard, and he just wouldn't have known what to do with it, but this was far from it. Once he actually learned the lyrics from start to finish – instead of the bits he knew – then he would be in business.

He practiced at home, up until the day of the performances. He may or may not have practiced in the boys' room; he wouldn't say. He knew he was going last, but he wasn't worried, so he sat, and he watched the others go one after the other, and finally it was time for him. He was cheered on into the spotlight, and he took it, more than gladly.

_[Ma] "I call you when I need you, my heart's on fire / You come to me, come to me wild and wired / Mmm, you come to me / Give me everything I need / Give me a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams / Speak a language of love like you know what it means / Mmm, it can't be wrong / Take my heart and make it strong, baby _

_You're simply the best, better than all the rest / Better than anyone, anyone I've ever met / I'm stuck on your heart, I hang on every word you say / Tear us apart no, no, baby, I would rather be dead _

_In your heart I see the star of every night and every day / In your eyes I get lost, I get washed away / Just as long as I'm here in your arms / I could be in no better place _

_You're simply the best, better than all the rest / Better than anyone, anyone I've ever met / I'm stuck on your heart, I hang on every word you say / Tear us apart no, no, baby, I would rather be dead _

_Each time you leave me I start losing control / You're walking away with my heart and my soul / I can feel you even when I'm alone / Oh baby, don't let go_

_Ooh you're the best / Better than all the rest / Better than anyone, anyone I've ever met / Ooh, I'm stuck on your heart, / I hang on every word you say / Don't tear us apart no, no, no, / Baby, I would rather be dead / Oooh, you're the best!"_

He finished, and everyone knew how much it had mattered to him, even more than to them. Mr. Schuester came up, clapping Matt's shoulder as the boy returned to his seat, but he didn't notice the smirks covertly creeping on the faces of his students.

"You guys really upped your game today, and I'm really…"

"Mr. Schue?" Finn raised his hand, interrupting before he got too deep into whatever he had to say.

"I… yes, Finn?" He didn't answer, instead turning to the others, in hopes that one of them would take the initiative to explain… Rachel took it, without a second thought.

"We have one more dare," she informed their teacher.

"Sorry?" Will asked them, confused, and he finally noticed the smirks. "What's…" he started, and Quinn reached inside her pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper as she stood and took two steps toward the teacher.

"Will Schuester, we, New Directions, dare you," she smiled, holding out the paper, and the rest of them erupted with cheers, encouragement for the man. It caught him off guard, though deep down he should have expected it. He chuckled, taking it.

"You have to say yes before you can read what that says," Artie instructed. He looked down at the paper; he supposed it would only be fair… and fun.

"Alright," Will nodded. "You've got a deal," he told them, and they cheered again, some of them calling that he 'open it,' meaning the paper. Will did, and he laughed.

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>**********always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**********


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